The journey of our shop hop quilt.

   Once the theme "The Best Quilt I Ever Read" was chosen, the challenge began - what direction to take our shop's quilt.  As a newbee to the Wasatch Front Shop Hop the pressure is on to come up with something amazing.  I have always wanted to make a "bookshelf" quilt and have been saving pictures and patterns for several years. It seems like a good fit for our theme this year. I tentatively check with my tallented staffers and get mixed feedback.  I was starting to think it was a terrible idea when I discovere that Sandi has actually made a bookshelf quilt (her husband deals in rare books and she had made one for his partner)  Sandi has pictures of her quilt, her original freezer paper pattern, and a fabulous book full of ideas and techniques.  The book is no longer in print, but I found it on Amazon.com (I love the internet - you can find anything imaginable) as well as a second pattern book by the same author, Wendy Etzel

  Sandi and I spent a morning working up a rough draft.  It was really rough!  I spent the weekend surfing the net for pictures and ideas and drawing up the actual layout.  The bowl and assorted lids are my low budget version of the circle template. 

  On Saturday, Janet and Rosann helped me select fabrics for the book spines.  I shipped the selection off to my friend Marilyn who embroidered the 15 Wasatch Front Shop Hop shop's novel/book titles.  Marilyn got them done right away and delivered them just  3 days after I sent the fabric!  Marilyn is amazing - I know she worked into the wee hours of the morning to get them all done.  They are fabulous! 

  On Tuesday Teresa, Marcy and Nancy spent the afternoon selecting fabrics for the other items I've selected to fill the shelves.   By the end of the day they have neatly wrapped and labled packages of fabrics for each item.  I take everything we've put together to my annual quilt retreat at Teton Patchworks Quilter's Retreat and spend three days working on the quilt.  Silly me, I really thought I would finish the entire quilt during the retreat!   I have really good friends - they all take time out of their retreat projects to help get the tiny 3-inch  blocks finished. The Treasure Island block was a particular challenge - be sure to look at it when you visit us during the shop hop.  It took me almost 8 hours to get this little guy pieced!  In 3 days I completed the spines of all 15 books and nothing else.  Then I discover that I have the wrong book for Whimsey Cottage. They changed after our initial selection and I was using the original list.  Doh!  I made an emergency phone call to Ann and she embroidered the most adorable Green Eggs & Ham book spine for me.  Again - I have terrific friends! 

   When I arrived home from retreat, I began putting the shelves together.

    My furry friends were ready and willing to help, always right in the middle of the  project. 

  Scattered among the shelves are clues and red herrings from the book. 

   This was the progress I made last week.  Doesn't look like a week's work does it?  You really have to see the little blocks to appreciate the time they took.

    As of 4:00 a.m. this morning, I have one more shelf to complete and the borders to add and will be ready for the longarm quilting to begin!  Hopefully I will be able to post a photo of the pieced top tomorrow.